Mako's Will
by Emila Boure
Summary: Cleo Sertori's life has almost always been anything but ordinary. But after a rather odd full moon and the crossing of tails with a new group of merfolk, her life - and their's - is forever changed, and it may not be for the better. [This fanfiction takes place after season 3 of H2O and 1 of Mako Mermaids.]
1. Cleo's Intro

p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Cleo/span/p  
>hr style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);" noshade="noshade" size="1"   
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Uh, hi. I'm Cleo. First thing you should know: I'm a mermaid.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Well, not all the time. When I'm wet I'm a mermaid, and when I'm dry I'm human. Simple as that. It may sound like the dream life - getting to live such a mythical relaxing life - playing with dolphins, swimming over reefs, practically living in the water. Then getting to keep all your human friends, possessions, and family.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Oh yeah, none of my family members are mermaids, by the way. Just me.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"I'm not here to tell you about mermaids, though. I'm writing this for a specific reason: to tell you a story.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Which I really should be getting to by now! So I'll be vague with everything you should know before we start the actual story.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"I'm a mermaid. Homo sapien when dry, aquatic humanoid while wet. I became a mermaid 4 years ago, when my friends Rikki and Emma and I stumbled upon this cave on this island called Mako. It was a full moon, we jumped in the water, we woke up the next day as mermaids. We each held sway over water, having different powers over it. And we then had to beware the full moon. Every full moon, we can't look at it, or our powers go haywire or we freak out or run away to Mako. That's the second biggest down side to being a mermaid.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Emma moved away not long after we became mermaids. Rikki and I met another mermaid, called Bella. For a long time, it was just us. We knew other mermaids - Charlotte and Mrs. Chatham - and heard of others - Gracie, Louise, and Eva. But it was just us. Us against the world. And the only people who knew our secret were our boyfriends.span/p 


	2. Chapter 1

Cleo

* * *

><p>The sun was getting ready to set on Sydney, Australia. The waves splashed on the shore, as if beckoning me to come for a swim. But I knew it was just the full moon. Before the full moon, the water always starts to look bluer and more beautiful, and it always seems to be attracting me more. I wondered if Bella and Rikki feel the same thing. I never took the time to ask.<p>

I stood up and brush the sand off of me. I started to trudge home, when I bumped into three girls. A brunette and two blondes - who get awkwardly silent when I pass by. That was strange… I shrugged it off and walk on.

When I got home, Rikki and Bella were both already there waiting for me. It was full moon time. We always spent this together.

"Hey, guys," I said.

Bella smiled. "Hi."

Rikki gave me the awkwardest scowl she could produce and waved.

Bella punched her in the arm lightly. "You are the strangest person!" She exclaimed, laughing between each word. I started laughing too, as we walked upstairs to my bedroom.

Once we got into the bedroom, Bella sat on my bed and Rikki started emptying her bag on the ground. I had already full moon protected my bedroom and bathroom. I went into the closet and pulled out sleeping bags for the two girls. Soon, Rikki and Bella were having some conversation about some hot new boy band.

"Oh, gross! I can't believe you would be so in to something as low as that," said Rikki. She hesitated before adding, "Actually, I would."

"Oh, come on! They're music is actually really good. Plus the drummer is really cute!" Bella added, dreamily.

Rikki rolled her eyes. "Should you even be looking at other guys? You already have a boyfriend."

Bella laughed.

I threw a pillow at them, laughing. "You guys are such-"

Just then my sister opened my door and walked in.

"Dad says to come downstairs and talk to him." She smirked and walked away.

Ugh, Kim. She's so annoying! Does that girl even know how to knock?! I rolled my eyes. "I'll be right back, guys."

As I was walking downstairs I suddenly forgot where I was. My body seemed to go into some sort of shock when it got further down. I suddenly felt very sick. I collapsed onto the ground, holding my side. After that, everything suddenly went black.


	3. Chapter 2

Cleo

* * *

><p>Next thing I knew, I was in my bed again. I looked around. "What the -"<p>

I was cut short by the sight of the girls and my dad and stepmum. They were all sitting or standing around my bed. They all heaved a breath of relief and stepped towards me when they saw I was awake.

My dad sighed. "Cleo, what just happened?! One minute you were coming downstairs, the next you were on the ground. We got you up and fixed you up on the couch. I turned around for five seconds to get you a glass of water, and you were gone! Vanished! Where _were_ you, Cleo?"

"Um... I was just... Uh... Going for a swim?"

"ALL NIGHT?!"

I looked outside. It was morning already?! Rikki and Bella looked at each other. They knew what had happened. I had been moonstruck.

But I hadn't even looked at the moon! What was going on?!

My dad sighed again. "You came in this morning acting like a ghost! Ignored me, ignored your friends, sister, everyone! What is up with you?!"

I sighed this time. "I don't even know what to say."

"I guess we're just glad your safe," said my stepmum.

"Get up, get dressed, we'll discuss this after."

Once they were both out of the room, Bella and Rikki rushed toward me.

"What happened?!" asked Bella.

"You just collapsed in the middle of the hallway! And then you were just... _gone!_" exclaimed Rikki, using some hyper hand gestures.

"You guys know more than I do! All I remember is collapsing and then waking up with all of you gawking at me."

Both girls sighed and took a step back.

We were all silent for a long time.

I finally broke the silence by saying, "what are we going to tell my father?"

Rikki shook her head. "I don't know."

I sighed. This was our worst full moon in a long time.

* * *

><p>After making up some dumb excuse, Bella and Rikki and I left the house. We were set for some "Ocean Cafe" down by the docks. After Rikki's closed due to a huge fall out between Zane and Rikki, we've been looking for a place to hang out together, the three of us. Bella heard about this place and told us. We decided to check it out.<p>

As I walked in, I noticed the same three girls I had passed before while walking, the ones who stopped talking as I passed by. I guess I must've been staring at them for a while, because Rikki asked, "Who're they?"

"What? Oh, nobody. Just some girls I recognize."

Rikki nodded. A blonde girl walked up to us with an apron on. "Hi, my name is Carly, and I'll be your server today," she said. We all just ordered drinks, with the exception of Rikki ordering a sushi platter on the side.

Once Carly walked away, I couldn't keep my eyes off of the girls for some reason. What did I find special about them? A boy and another girl joined them, their arms around each other.

Rikki started snapping in my face, bringing my back to reality. "Cleo, what is with you?" she asked. "You disappear last night out of the blue, without even seeing the moon, and now you won't stop staring at some random group of people."

I shake my head. "I really don't know. I need some sleep. What time did I come in last night?"

"It was really only a couple hours after you left," said Bella, this time.

I shook my head.

Carly started walking over with our drinks. One of the girls, the tallest of the group I had been staring at, scooted out her chair just as she walked by. She tipped the tray over herself.

This, we all saw.

She was wet. And she ran. She actually ran. I don't think any _humans_ freak out _that_ much when they get wet. Not enough for them to run into a back room and have your friends all run with you, lock the door from the outside, and guard it.

We all looked at each other is unison. And I knew we were all thinking the exact same thing:

We weren't the only mermaids sitting in the Ocean Cafe right now.


	4. Chapter 3

Cleo

* * *

><p>We all stood up hesitantly. Most of the group of kids started talking to Carly and some guys who also worked at the cafe. It seemed like they were trying to... distract them. The three of us watched until the tall girl stepped out with the brunette. The whole group started walking out. Rikki ahead of us, we followed.<p>

"What was _that?!_" asked Rikki as we stepped out of the cafe. They all spun around and looked at us.

The brunette was the first to speak. "Lyla here," she said, motioning to the tallest girl who had gotten wet, "was just drying off after she got splashed."

"Really?" asked Rikki, crossing her arms. "Then why be in such a rush? A little strawberry smoothie won't hurt anybody."

The tall one - "Lyla" - hesitated before saying, "the smoothie makes me... Break out a lot, like, all over."

The one who looked like she was with the boy stepped forward and said, "Just leave us alone. Why do you even want to know?"

"We know what's going on here," said Bella.

Suddenly, a plan had formed in my head.

As they kept talking, I looked at them and acted like I was listening, while I focused elsewhere, using my powers to form waves in the water next to the cafe.

I think the boy noticed me glancing at the water, because he looked at me and then behind him. Right as he turned around, a wave splashed over him, just hitting the girl's ankles.

Bella, Rikki, and I all took a step back, but Rikki was too late. She got the mist along her toes, and she, along with the three girls from the group I had seen earlier, and the... _boy_ (?!) jumped in the water.

Bella and I looked at each other. We ran to the water with the lone girl of the group, and tried to see through the water.

The girl turned to us with her mouth half opened, not even able to speak.

I don't know about Bella, but the only thing racing through my mind was the fact that the guy had jumped in the water too.


	5. Zac's Intro

Zac

* * *

><p>Well, I'm Zac. I'm kinda a merman...<p>

I've been one for about a year now. It's pretty amazing. I have these cool powers over water, and these mermaid friends called Lyla, Nixie, and Sirena.

I also have this (non-mermaid) girlfriend called Evie.

I think Cleo has explained mostly everything else about being a mermaid. The same all applies for me, the whole "merman while wet, human when dry." It's pretty awesome. I don't think I'd trade it for the world.


	6. Chapter 4

Zac

* * *

><p>Anyways, back to your story. So far you've read up to when we all met. It's funny, though, Cleo and I hadn't realized we actually met before this.<p>

But I'll save that for later.

I figure by now you must've guessed that I was the guy who jumped in the water, along with Lyla, Nixie, and Sirena. Evie was the one who stayed above with Cleo and Bella.

So now it was just back to us swimming to who knows where. Just kind of...trying to get away.

I didn't think we were in too deep (pun unintended). I didn't really see anybody else see us dive into the water. We just had to avoid those girls from then on.

Apparently not.

I looked around to make sure Lyla, Sirena, and Nixie were there too. I counted one, two, three, four tails in front of me.

Good, they were all there.

Wait.

Just wait.

Step back a minute.

Four?

_Four?_

One of the girls - Rikki - was in the water with us. And she had a tail, too. I was pretty freaked, I'll admit. So I tried to out swim her.

Apparently, though, Rikki had been a mermaid a lot longer than I'd been a merman, because she was faster than I was. She grabbed the end of my tail and pulled me back. She looked pretty freaked out by the color of my tail. That, and the fact that I was a merman, not a mermaid. Mermen are apparently pretty rare in the mermaid community.

She just stared at me for a while before grabbing me by the wrists and pulling me up.

We just stared at each other above water for a while too. She finally spoke saying, "you - you're a -"

I shrugged and nodded. This wasn't the first time I got this reaction for being a merman.

I wanted to know where the girls had gone. My guess was Mako.

"Do you…Have you - um, er, are you from around Mako?" I asked. I wasn't even sure what I was trying to ask. I was just trying to get her to go to Mako. I wanted the girls.

"Mako?" she asked. "Um…I guess you could say that."

I nodded. "Uh…I'm going to…go there, now."

She nodded, and in a very stubborn attitude that reminded me of Lyla, said, "I'm coming with you."

She smirked.

I nodded.

We swam.

* * *

><p>I was relieved when we got to the moonpool. I swam in at the exact time as Rikki. The girls stopped mid conversation.<p>

They all looked at each other.

Nixie swam up to Rikki first. "uh…hi," she said.

"Hi. I - I'm Rikki," she said in an attitude not less bold than her original, but a bit surprised.

She just stared at all of us.

"You're…you're all…mermaids. There's _four_ of you! I've only ever met one at a time…"

"Actually I'm a merman, not a mermaid," I said, breaking in.

Lyla hit me in the stomach to tell me to shut up.

"Ow," I said.

Rikki then started looking around the moonpool. "Oh my God. The pool…last time I was here…how did it…"

Lyla, Nixie, and Sirena looked very shocked at that.

Lyla asked, "you - you were here when it was destroyed?"

Rikki smirked again. "I _saw_ it being destroyed."


	7. Chapter 5

p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Zac/span/p  
>hr style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);" noshade="noshade" size="1"   
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Wait, wait, wait. What? The pool was…emdestroyedem?" I asked./span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Lyla started explaining, saying, "before our pod moved here - emwhyem our pod moved here - was because of this meteor we sensed coming into our atmosphere. We knew it was coming straight for Mako -"/span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Which we weren't aware at the time had a moonpool," Nixie added.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Right," Lyla continued. "We knew we were too late to stop it, but we swam there anyways. On the night of the meteor, though, when we were about a day's swim away, we saw the meteor explode before it could hit down."span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""It was the moonpool!" said Sirena, with a laugh. "It saved us! But was destroyed in the proc-"span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""No," said Rikki, interrupting her. "No. The moonpool was destroyed before comet came."span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""What?" asked Nixie. "No. The power needed to stop that comet - if it wasn't the moonpool that did it, it had to be a whole pod."span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""emPodem…?" asked Rikki. She shook her head. "All I know is that my friends Cleo, Bella, and I stopped that meteor."/span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Only three of you?" asked Lyla. "That's impossible."span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Well, how many mermaids are in a pod?" asked Rikki.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Lyla, Sirena, and Nixie all looked at each other in awe.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""You mean…" started Nixie.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""You've emneverem been a part of a pod?" interrupted Lyla./span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Rikki just shook her head. "Up until now, I'd never even heard the word used like that."span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Even with the little I knew about pods, I knew that was crazy. How could she ever have not been a part of a pod?!span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Nixie asked, "Rikki, have you…been a mermaid your emwhole lifeem?"/span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Rikki shook her head. "Cleo and I - and our friend Emma - became mermaids in this pool years ago. Our friend Bella became a mermaid in a pool in Ireland a couple of years before emthatem. But I still don't understand - I saw this pool destroyed! How did it…did emyou/em bring it back to life?"/span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""When we saw it destroyed, the pod brought forward it's strongest mermaids and they used their moonrings to bring it back. After that, we just decided to live here," explained Lyla.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Moonrings?" asked Rikki. "On second thought, don't answer that. There is way too much to explain. Can we meet up on land and talk? I want Bella, Cleo, and Will to hear all this."span/p 


	8. Chapter 6

Cleo

* * *

><p>"So…let me get this straight. The four of you - Lyla, Sirena, Nixie, and…Zac - are <em>all<em> mermaids?!" I asked, still blown away. "And you have been your whole life?"

"Well," Zac said, raising his hand. "I haven't been. I fell into the moonpool by accident a few months ago."

"Oh yeah…" started Rikki, trailing off.

Evie, Zac, Lyla, Nixie, Sirena, Bella, Will, Rikki and I were all at my house. After Rikki swam off after them, we waited around for twenty minutes with the human girl, who we soon learned was called Evie. The mermaids, Zac, and Rikki came back and very urgently sought out an empty place where we could talk. Sam, Dad, and Kim were out for the weekend, so I suggested my house.

"And what'd you guys say you used to bring the moonpool back to life after it was destroyed?" asked Bella. At that, Will, Rikki, and I looked at each other.

The moonpool had been destroyed by somebody close to each of us. Me, my friend Ryan; Rikki, her boyfriend Zane; and Will, his sister Sophie.

"Our moon rings," said Nixie, motioning to the rings they each had on their fingers. "In the pods, a mermaid is rewarded a moon ring for completing her training."

Still staring at the rings, Bella asked, "and what'd you say was a pod again?"

"The group of mermaids we live with. Or, uh…lived," said Sirena, glumly draining off.

"We were cast out when we let Zac into the moonpool," said Nixie.

We all nod as though we understand, but I don't seem to be able to rap my head around this.

"So…just one last question. Why is Zac's tail blue?" asked Rikki.

Nixie shrugged and looked at the others.

"We assumed it was because we were all born mermaids, while he became one in the pool, which is connected with the moon. But now that you've come along…" Lyla trailed off.

"And I don't think it's because he's a guy," said Bella. "Is it?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that our pod brought the moon pool back to life. Maybe because it's infused with the powers of the moon rings now," Lyla suggested.

That was probably it. And the slightest differences between our tails and theirs was as it was because they were born mermaids, while we were born human. It was all clicking into place.

I yawned. I had a late night last night.

Bella and Rikki looked at me. "Well, we've had…quite an adventure within last night and today," I said.

Bella laughed. "Yeah, you gave us quite a scare," she said to me.

"Why, what happened?" asked Nixie

"Cleo was moonstruck last night," said Rikki. "It was the strangest thing, too. She didn't even have to see the moon. As soon as it came up, she crashed then ran out. She went missing early throughout the night. She came back about an hour after the dark fully hit, but didn't wake up until this morning."

The girls and Zac all looked at each other.

"The same thing happened to us too," said Evie. "With Zac."

Everybody looked around at each other, but Zac and I just stayed staring at each other, eyes locked. _What could this mean?_


	9. Chapter 7

p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Cleo/span/p  
>hr style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);" noshade="noshade" size="1"   
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"For a month, we talked to this group of mermaids. We learned more about their history and how full time mermaids live. We even learned about their powers - which we soon found ours to be inferior to.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"We taught them of the little we knew, and the history of mermaids we knew of. We told them stories of our adventures, and they told us of theirs.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"We talked and laughed and enjoyed ourselves. And somewhere along all these mermaid relations, we became friends. They were all so likable, even Rikki couldn't help but enjoy them and their company.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"But we couldn't quite figure out what happened during that full moon. How and why it effected us - Zac and I. The full moon doesn't effect you unless you look at it. Neither Zac nor I was anywhere near it. And why did it effect just us? Why were none of the other girls moonstruck?span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"So many questions, and yet no answers. We were absolutely clueless.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"The only day we were thought to get any answers was the next full moon.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"We all decided to spend it where the girls lived. They lived with another mermaid they knew who had been cast out, named Rita. She was the principal at Zac and Evie's school. The girls didn't like to spend the night on land, but they did it on occasion to spend full moons with Zac. So all seven of us merfolk spent the night in Rita's grotto.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"The moon came up - which was right when both Zac and I had gone berserk the full moon before - and nothing happened. All throughout the night, we talked, avoided the moon, and soon enough, relaxed. We didn't realize how high the tension had been until it was gone.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"The next morning was a surprise to us all, when we realized we had all survived the night. This was a good thing, but it left us a bit angrier and didn't cure our cluelessness. We still hadn't found out about any reasons as to why the last full moon had done what it did to Zac and I. But we were both very relieved to have stayed away from it's grasp that night.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"That morning, we all went out to breakfast together. I got fish - shrimp, cod, tuna, etc. Whatever they had at the cafe at the time. When my food came, I scarfed it down in five minutes flat and was still starving. I tried to drink the chocolate breakfast shake I ordered along with it, but the chocolate made me gag. Bad. And everybody at the table saw.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Cleo, what's wrong with you this morning?" asked Rikki, looking very concerned.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"I didn't know. I just didn't feel right. I turned to Zac and asked, "are you feeling any different?"span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"He shook his head. "Not in the least bit. Do you think this was the full moon?"span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"I shrugged. "I could just be coming down with something," I said. I added that Kim had been sick two days before, and I had probably just caught what she had.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"But the thing was, I was still starving. I looked around and nobody's food at the table looked good. Waffles, yogurt, eggs…yuch. Not appetizing in the least bit.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"So I looked around the room for Carly, the waitress. When I found her, I kinda tried to wave her towards me. She came and asked, "is there anything i could do for you?"span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"I smiled. "Yeah, may I have another fish platter? Or two? Thanks."span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"She gave me a weary smile before scratching something down on her pad of paper and saying she'd get it right away. After she walked off, everybody turned and looked at me.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Okay, there has to be something wrong. You never eat this much. And you barely even emlikeem fish!" said Rikki./span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"I thought about it. My dad has been a fishermen my entire life. I've had more fish than any other food. There is not a day that goes by when there is not at least a bite of sea food eaten in my house. Fish is a food that is very easy to get tired of. So why was I suddenly wanting it so bad?span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"I just looked at Rikki. I had no idea. This was a bit weird…but I mean, come on. I'm a mermaid! I see more "weird" each day than any human will see in their entire life.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Not to mention it's morning, and everybody else is having embreakfastem," added Zac./span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"I sighed. "Can't I just eat my breakfast in peace? Without being judged for my eating choices?" I asked.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);""Sorry," mumbled Rikki weakly.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"Carly brought me my food a few minutes later, and I made sure to eat it slower this time, to show that I was fine, just a bit hungry that morning.span/p  
>p style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 14px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"And that was the end of that affair.span/p 


End file.
